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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffTo treat uterine polyps, you might consider:
- Watchful waiting. Small, asymptomatic polyps may resolve on their own. Treatment is unnecessary unless you're at risk of uterine cancer.
- Medication. Certain hormonal medications, including progestins and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, may shrink a uterine polyp and lessen symptoms. But taking such medications is usually a short-term solution at best — symptoms typically recur once you stop taking the medicine.
- Curettage. Your doctor uses a long metal instrument with a loop on the end to scrape the inside walls of your uterus. This may be done to collect a specimen for laboratory testing or to remove a polyp. Your doctor may perform curettage with the assistance of a hysteroscope, which allows your doctor to view the inside of your uterus before and after the procedure. When performed on its own without the aid of a hysteroscope, the procedure is known as blind curettage.
- Surgical removal. If you undergo hysteroscopy, instruments inserted through the hysteroscope — the device your doctor uses to see inside your uterus — make it possible to remove polyps once they're identified. The removed polyp may be sent to a laboratory for microscopic examination.
- Hysterectomy. If closer examination reveals that a uterine polyp contains cancerous cells, surgery to remove your uterus (hysterectomy) becomes necessary.
Uterine polyps, once removed, can recur. It's possible that you might need to undergo treatment more than once if you experience recurring uterine polyps.
References
- Ellenson LH, et al. The female genital tract. In: Kumar V, et al. Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/191233107-3/0/2060/258.html?tocnode=57531643&fromURL=258.html. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Drinville JS, et al. Benign disorders of the uterine corpus. In: DeCherney AH, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment Obstetrics & Gynecology. 10th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=2389400. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Stewart EA. Endometrial polyps. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 24, 2010.
- Hoffman BL. Abnormal uterine bleeding. In: Schorge JO, et al. Williams Gynecology. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=3153117. Accessed March 29, 2010.
- Hillard Adams PJ. Benign diseases of the female reproductive tract. In: Berek JS. Berek & Novak's Gynecology. 14th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007:431.
- Sonohysterography. Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=hysterosono. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Perez-Medina T, et al. Endometrial polyps and their implication in the pregnancy rates of patients undergoing intrauterine insemination: A prospective, randomized study. Human Reproduction. 2005;20:1632.
- Stamatellos I, et al. Pregnancy rates after hysteroscopic polypectomy depending on the size or number of the polyps. Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics. 2008;277:395.
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